Category Archives: Recipes

Three of my current obsessions include food in muffin form, feta cheese, and dishes that are quick and easy to make. Making anything in the form of a “muffin” automatically makes it more fun to eat, feta cheese adds a delicious bite to almost anything, and lately, I just don’t have the time or energy to cook elaborate meals.

Breakfast for dinner is pretty much the best lazy girl’s way of cooking and eating a healthy, filling, and varied meal. And these spinach, mushroom and feta frittatas are clearly a manifestation of my three current obsessions.

The inspiration for these came from Pinterest- yet another recent obsession. I think I officially have an obsessive personality. That’s ok- there are worse things to be addicted to than Pinterest and feta cheese, right!?

These frittatas are so simple to make. The feta/spinach/mushroom combo was fabulous, but so many other mix-ins could work as well. Sun dried tomato and feta or broccoli and cheddar cheese would be great twists.

Ok: Apparently I have been living under a rock for the past year or so, but I recently discovered two websites that I am pretty much now obsessed with. Those would be Pinterest and Sally’s Baking Addiction.

Just to clear things up, it’s not that I hadn’t heard of Pinterest, I just didn’t explore it or understand what it’s purpose was exactly. Maybe I really am getting old, but between blogs, facebook, twitter, and instagram, I didn’t really want to sit and learn how to use another form of social media.

I guess my secret is out, I am obviously 80 years old.

Anyways, I am now not only on Pinterest but constantly on Pinterest. The website has already inspired two of my meals for later this week, so stay tuned.

Now let’s talk about Sally. Have you guys visited her blog, Sally’s Baking Addiction? Holy cow. Sprinkles, cookies, cupcakes, muffins galore. Honestly, I don’t even like to bake. I have always preferred cooking over baking because I feel I am better able to create something unique that I cannot simply purchase by cooking instead of baking. Also, I have always felt it is rather easy to tweak meals and make them healthier but that is much harder to do with baking. Well, Sally and her blog have pretty much inspired me to bake (or in better terms, follow her recipes step by step).

Ironically, I stumbled upon Sally’s blog during the peak of my “trying to eat super healthy for vacation” phase. However, while perusing her blog, I noticed one of her most recent posts for ‘skinny double chocolate chip muffins’. Coincidence? I think not.

Now, normally I am just as skeptical of ‘skinny’ desserts as the next woman, but for some reason I trusted Sally. Her plethora of drool-worthy photography and shared love of sprinkles made me think she knew what she was doing. So, I ventured into the baking world with these delicious, gooey, healthy muffins.

Preheat oven to 425F degrees. Spray 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray. Do not use liners.

In a large bowl, combine applesauce, sugar, honey, egg whites, greek yogurt, and vanilla extract. Whisk them all together until smooth, with no yogurt lumps remaining.

Sift* the flours, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, and baking powder together. Slowly stir in the wet ingredients, being careful not to overmix. Get any dry pockets of flour out. Fold in the mini chocolate chips. The batter will be a little chunky. This is ok.

Divide the batter evenly amount 12 liners – fill them all the way to the top if you can. Bake for 5 minutes at 425F. Keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the temperature down to 375 and continue to bake for 13 more minutes. Insert a toothpick into the center of one muffin. If it comes out clean, they are done. If not, bake for only 2 more minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 3 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

The Verdict?

I absolutely loved these muffins. I thought they were chocolatey, gooey, moist, and flavorful. In my opinion, they don’t taste like anything has been sacrificed in making them lighter. In fact, I have been craving a muffin for about two months now, and I can honestly say that these satisfied that craving.

But….

I must mention that my boyfriend, for whatever credit this may hold, was not a fan of these muffins. He doesn’t know why. He can’t explain it. He simply felt that there was a taste of sorts he didn’t like. Luckily, these freeze well. More for me.

I strongly recommend making these muffins. They are delicious, health(ier), and super easy to make. Some fun twists could be using peanut butter chocolate chips instead, or mixing some strawberries in the batter.

Do you guys prefer baking “healthier” recipes or do you subscribe to the notion that baking is meant to be pure fattening deliciousness?

This was the first time I used my broiler in this particular oven, and I have a feeling that it wasn’t fully heated when I put the salmon in. The result was that the top of the salmon cooked way faster than the rest; the top was already cooked while the middle was still raw. Ultimately, the salmon turned out EXTREMELY dried out, right down to the mustardy spread on top. The mustard practically browned in the same way cheese would while baking in the oven (good for pizza, not for fish). In all fairness, the actual flavor of the topping was very good.

Random side note: how in the world is one supposed to chop fresh thyme without the sprigs getting in the way? The thyme was not like rosemary where the herbs just fell right off. This step was beyond frustrating for an already doomed meal.

To make matters even worse, I made this with lemon green beans and shallots (idea from Two Peas & Their Pod blog). Seriously, this side includes three ingredients- how did I screw this up? I’ll tell you how: I used the amount of lemon called for in cooking the whole recipe even though I reduced the serving size drastically. The result was overly lemony, under shallot-ed green beans. Fail.

The best part of this meal was contributed by good ol’ Uncle Ben. Seriously, Uncle Bens instant brown rice and quiona mix with garlic is very tasty. I highly recommed it for a healthy grain dish in a pinch.

And that is the sad truth- the best I can offer you from this meal is a thumbs up to Uncle Ben’s brown rice and quinoa mix.

Giada’s salmon may be worth a shot if you are confident in your broilers ability to work. After tonight’s experience though, I think I will stick to grilling and baking my salmon instead. While the mustard sauce was really good, it didn’t measure up to the simple blackening mix I usually use, which happens to be way less complicated.

Tonights adventures were a disappointment on all fronts. I am sure the problem rests with me and/or my appliances so if any of you try out these recipes and have success, please let me know!

Since this post is filled with enough negativity already, I will save my rant about what happens when you try out a new workout and hate it for another day. Also, to lighten up the mood a little, I have included a picture of my incredibly cute dog, Macy. I always say she looks like a little burrito when she’s nestled in my covers like this, so technically she does belong in a blog post about food :)

Hello blog peeps- I am officially back to a semi-normal routine and finally had the time to cook up a healthy, tasty meal tonight.

Because it has been a while since I tried a new recipe, I figured I would come back in full force and try something a bit out of my comfort zone. Fish is one of those things that I am gradually developing quite a taste for, but am still reluctant at trying new types. My taste buds have mastered salmon (especially my yummy blackened salmon) and tried grouper and chilean sea bass while dining out, but I am not quick to try new fish recipes at home. I mean, is anything less satisfying after a long day than a bland, fishy, expensive piece of fish? Well, tonight was time to execute one of my foodie resolutions in trying new things.

I made a dijon crusted baked halibut that I am happy to report turned out quite tasty! I adapted the recipe from this Taste of Home Recipe by tweaking it just a little. I decided to use halibut instead of tilapia because 1) fresh, wild halibut is on sale this week at Whole Foods (score!), and 2) I had never tried halibut before.

I know I mention on here rather frequently whether or not my boyfriend liked a dish, but that is because he is a picky eater when it comes to healthy food. So, I feel a recipe is uber-legitimate and totally worth sharing with you guys when he likes it. And such was the case tonight :)

Bake in the oven for about 13-17 minutes, checking at 13 minutes, until fish is flaky in the center.

We were pleasantly surprised at how good and EASY this recipe was. I served it with frozen steamed broccoli (yawn), but tons of side dishes would accompany this perfectly.

The only thing I noticed was that because halibut (or perhaps just this piece) is such a thick piece of fish, we didn’t get a yummy dijon flavor in every bite, especially towards the center. Luckily halibut is a very taste neutral fish, so it was more not flavorful as opposed to bad. My solution to this for next time: reserve the extra mayo mixture to use as a dipping sauce. If I had known this, I definitely would have saved my extra instead of tossing it down the drain in an attempt to be ahead of the clean up game. Topping that reserved mixture with fresh herbs, such as dill or parsley, could be beyond delicious.

The next time you are looking for a healthy, delicious, out-of-the-box seafood recipe, definitely give this a try!

What is your favorite type of fish to cook? What fish have you always wanted to try to make at home?

It has been a long time since I blogged about food, and an even longer time since I blogged about food I actually made and didn’t just purchase. This saddens me. But, such is the tragic story of a busy grad student.

All of the credit for this recipe goes to Holly at Everyday’s a Hollyday. Fun side note: Holly is a best friend of one of my best friends, but we have never actually met! But, through my friend Lea, and through Holly’s amazing blog, I know I would love her. She posted this recipe for pear-streusel coffee cake a while back, and I knew I had to make it. A recipe for a coffee cake that involves pear and Chobani yogurt?! I was hooked. I honestly made no changes to the recipe, so simply click the link to see the recipe.

This coffee cake is delicious, easy to make, and guess what- healthy! There is no butter involved, instead the recipe uses greek yogurt. This is the perfect “treat” for breakfast, snack, or a dessert (ok so really any time). The recipe makes plenty to last a few people all week. Ok, that is assuming you have a little self control and don’t eat three squares at once, which may be difficult.

My boyfriend was extremely skeptical of this because 1) he does not trust dessert made with no butter and 2) he does not like pear or greek yogurt that much…… OR SO HE THOUGHT. He loved it.

The pear version was fantastic, but I think it would be so much fun and easy to play with the flavors, and I think next time I will try apple, using the apple-cinnamon Chobani yogurt with cut up apple. Either way, this coffee cake is just the right amount of sweet, moist, and does not sacrifice the delicious streusel topping in becoming health-ified.

Baking in a healthy way is something that scares me because although I know it can certainly be done, I feel one is at a higher risk for a dessert dud. It is one thing for me to screw up dinner, but that is unacceptable for dessert! But, as mentioned, this coffee cake was a total success and I highly recommend giving it a try.

It feels so great to blog again after being MIA for a while. I have two exciting blog posts for this week, one of which involves an awesome farmers market find and another that involves something so delicious, it will be added to the “Best Thing I Ever Ate” page.

Sometimes, trying new recipes can be exhausting. Sometimes, after a tedious, never-ending day of work and chores, you just want to come home and cook something reliable. Something that you know will turn out delicious and requires minimal work.

Those are totally the kind of days weeks I’ve been having. This white bean chicken chili is one of our all time favorite recipes for a few years now. It is filling, healthy, oh-so-tasty, makes enough for about 6-7 meals, inexpensive, and not terribly time consuming. This chili is essentially the ‘total package’ of dinners.

I found it a few years ago on AllRecipes, and have adapted it over time based on personal tastes and reviewers suggestions.

White Bean Chicken Chili

Adapted from this AllRecipes recipe (I promise my changes are better- they have been years and 30 batches in the making)

You know those recipes that you are so skeptical of as you are cooking it because something just doesn’t look right? Why is the food that color? What is that smell? I’m really supposed to add that much red pepper flakes?

Those types of meals are often anxiety inducing because many times, they can very well turn out to be duds. But sometimes, everything ends up coming together perfectly and all your doubts wash away. (Very similar to other things in life, actually!)

I was SO skeptical of this recipe right up until the time I took my first bite. Honestly, it did not look that good, and I was certain I was going to be disappointed. Well, I was totally wrong!

Quick Chickpea Curry

My meatless monday recipe this week came from a completely random post I read on my WordPress Reader as I was browsing the food tag. What caught my eye was the bloggers comment that even her boyfriend said ‘yum’. And no joke, my boyfriend said the same thing when he ate it.

It is a Martha Stewart recipe for a chickpea curry, and man was it delicious. I really wanted to share this insanely easy, cheap, and delicious recipe with you guys.

Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook covered for about 20 minutes.

Uncover, increase heat to medium-high, and cook until sauce is slightly reduced, about 5-8 minutes.

For best results, refrigerate overnight to allow flavors to come together. *Do not drain any excess liquid, despite how much you may have. This will reduce during storage and provide a great flavored sauce that is necessary.

Reheat, and right before eating, drizzle some fresh lemon juice and stir well.

I had this chickpea curry mixed with brown rice for a complete, healthy meal. It would also be great in a warm pita! Or, simply served by itself as a light meal or side dish.

Do not, and I repeat do not, skip the fresh lemon at the end. I forgot this part during one plate of leftovers and I completely tasted the difference!

Now, go enjoy this recipe. With the money you save on ingredients and the calories you save on your waistline, you are entitled to a nice fancy dessert ;)